Hoping For Change Is Not Enough

This wasn't always the way I thought...

11th April 2015, the day I moved to Germany. I stepped off the plane ready to begin the next chapter of my life. I'd met a gorgeous and brilliant German girl, Yvonne, two years before whilst backpacking in New Zealand. I arrived in Germany that morning of the 11th April with not much in the way of money, a new business a few weeks old with a handful of clients and a suitcase, full of mostly socks. 

What I lacked in finances, business prosperity, and possessions- I more than made up for with Hope.

I hoped for a Successful Business. 

I hoped I would have enough people to work with and enough money coming in to get by. 

I hoped the relationship Yvonne and I had would continue to blossom, the longest amount of time we had spent together before moving in together was a few weeks. 

Would Yvonne be able to put up with me? I'd hoped so.

I was normal to have hopes, right? It's harmless and if anything, healthy, for us to be hopeful of the future?

Not always. This is my belief today.

One of the questions I'm most curious about answering is 'What are the key differences between someone who gets results in their life (they make changes, achieve their goals) and someone who doesn't?

What I've discovered isn't a secret.

Simply a factor I feel plays a huge part in determining Success or Failure.

Here it is; there are people in life who hope and there are those who commit.

The person who simply hopes will say things like;

• 'Hopefully, my finances will change'.
• 'I hope I lose some weight this week'.
• 'I hope to do well in the job interview this week'

A person who has committed will sound different;

• 'I will change my financial situation'.
• 'I'll be exercising daily to make sure I lose weight this week'
• 'I'm going to prepare and show up at my best for the job interview'.

He (or she) who commits, need not rely on hope as a strategy.

They understand they have some level of control over each of the situations.

And the problem I have with hoping as a strategy is- it suggests we don't have control. It suggests the results is out of our control and the best we can do is hope. And when we hope, nothing happens! What do we really mean when we say 'I hope so'?

Commitment, on the other hand, demands action, which creates results.

Here's an example. You ever notice how when someone tells you 'Hopefully, I'll get around to calling you at the weekend'. The weekend comes and goes, and they never call? (I'm guilty of saying this in the past so maybe this is my example).

I'm insanely optimistic but these days I'll never hope for an outcome that I have some degree of control over. I know from reflecting on my own journey, the times I've achieved the outcomes I've wanted, there was a commitment, followed by plenty of action.

To begin I usually ask some quality questions.

Hope has a place. It can serve us by giving us the courage to follow our heart. But we need to hope wisely. Certainly, we can hope for Sun on the day of a picnic. We can hope for England to win the football world cup (it won't happen in my lifetime). Ultimately, what will be, will be. Often it's the business of God, Fate, the Universe, whatever you believe the higher power to be, to decide outcomes.

But please, don't dismiss the power you have to create.

Don't wish away your creativity, your energy, your genius by hoping recklessly.

Continue to take action on creating the life you desire for yourself.

If you enjoyed this and want more inspiration & tools to think better, feel better, and live better - then here is what you can do right now...

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